Virbac Paprec 3 regains the lead

As front Barcelona World Race duo close on Gough Island

Image above courtesy of Expedition Navigation Systems and PredictWind. See a bigger version here. If you can't see the whole of the table below (this depends which browser you use), scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Positions at 0830 GMT

After their blinding performance yesteday, so at the latest sched Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron on board Virbac-Paprec 3 have regained the lead of the Barcelona World Race as she and Foncia close on the mandatory waypoint of Gough Island.

The front has now passed them while also receeding to the south and as a result from bowling along in stiff northerlies, the wind is now into the south and lighter, speeds down to 13-14 knots rather than the 15-17 they were enjoying at the close of play yesterday. Given there present speeds there must still be more wind out there and the GRIB files indicate. Nonetheless the final miles to Gough Island - 79 for Virbac-Paprec 3 and 85 for Foncia, look set to be lighter with the high pressure taking hold to their north. The light conditions won't last long though for there is another Southern Ocean depression thundering east and the leaders should start feeling the effects of this over the course of Monday.

Behind, the official stats for the race have Groupe Bel up to third, having double jumped both Mapfre  and Estrella Damm overnight. Our routing still has Mapfre in third with 571 miles to go to Gough Island (ie around 500 mile than Virbac Paprec 3), with Estrella Damm fourth some 58 miles further behind and Groupe Bel still in fifth with 633 miles between her and the waypoint. For the trailing pack it has been a slow 24 hours, typically making just 70-100 miles down the course. This has been particularly true for Mapfre, off to the southwest, which has been nailed by the high and could plummet down the leaderboard over the course of today.